Top-seeded Anderson wins 1st match at New York Open

South Africa's Kevin Anderson celebrates a point win over Britain's Kyle Edmund during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. (Ng Han Guan/AP)

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Top-seeded Kevin Anderson needed a third-set tiebreaker to beat American Ernesto Escobedo 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) on Thursday in the second round of the New York Open.

The U.S. Open runner-up from South Africa was playing his first match at the tournament after receiving a first-round bye. He advanced to face another American, Frances Tiafoe, who reached his first ATP quarterfinal by beating Israel’s Dudi Sela 6-4, 3-6, 6-0.

No. 6 seed Ryan Harrison, the last champion when this tournament was in Memphis, Tennessee, before moving to Long Island this year, was upset by Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 6-4, 6-4. Karlovic will face second-seeded American Sam Querrey, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny.

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